1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to electrical receptacle assemblies and, more particularly, is concerned with an electrical receptacle assembly with multiple sites of dual snap-fit securement means.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, many electrical receptacles manufactured and marketed by Hubbell Incorporated of Orange, Conn., the assignee of the subject application, have employed a housing, which is formed by separate mateable front and back covers, and a mounting bridge having opposite ends with ears attachable to a suitable structure, such as a building wall, by use of suitable fasteners, such as screws or the like, which are employed to hold the housing in a mounted relationship relative to the structure. In some electrical receptacle designs, the mounting bridge has a generally U-shape so as to wrap around portions of the mated front and back covers of the housing and provides securement elements which interlock with complementary securement elements on the front and back covers so as to retain the housing in an assembled condition. In other electrical receptacle designs, the mounting bridge is a relatively flat shape and disposed between the mated front and back covers of the housing with separate mechanical fasteners, such as screws or rivets, used to secure the front and back covers of the housing together.
With respect to these latter electrical receptacle designs, it would be desirable to achieve a rapid, firm and tight securement between front and back covers of the housing and with the flat mounting strap sandwiched therebetween without the use of separate mechanical fasteners or tools. Various designs of snap-fit type securements are known in the prior art. For example, several designs of snap-fit securements of housing parts in electrical receptacles are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,087 to Brant and U.S. Pat. No. 5,510,760 to Marcou et al. A design of a snap-fit securement of an accessory strip to a outlet cover plate is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,874 to Orlando et al. While these prior art snap-fit securement designs may appear to be satisfactory for the specific purposes for which they were designed, they are not seen as providing an optimum solution to the achievement of a rapid and firm assembly of the housing parts that will tightly hold them together in a desired mated relationship, which is the receptacle assembly design problem at hand.
Consequently, a need still remains for a snap-fit securement design for an electrical receptacle assembly which provides a solution to the aforementioned problem without introducing any new problems in place thereof.